Cancelling the Apocalypse
by Lightning Streak
Summary: In an already-destroyed future, Valerie Gray and Dan Phantom must fight together to avoid total annihilation. Alien invasion AU.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: Don't own DP or the movie Pacific Rim. Although I sincerely wish I did. _

_Because every fandom needs a Pacific Rim AU experiment story. _

_While I hope that this story is independent enough to stand on its own, here is a summary of the movie Pacific Rim (2013): Aliens from another dimension try to take over Earth by using genetically-engineered monsters to wipe out the human race__. Countries worldwide retaliate with nuclear blasts to kill the monsters, but environmental toxicity __becomes a major concern. Governments then begin to design gigantic, manned robots that are large enough to fight off the monsters as they appear. These robots have two pilots, whose minds are connected together to properly drive and fight using the robot. _

_Cue the remix..._

* * *

**Cancelling the Apocalypse**

* * *

They adapted.

Whatever the creatures were, they destroyed everything in their path with their limbs and frothing maws the size of football fields. They survived every weapon the human race threw at them, short of nuclear bombs.

They broke down morals and pride and replaced it with a desperation for survival.

Such events were exactly why Dan Phantom landed in the heart of the Amity Park resistance building without even one blaster in his face. The ghost shield was down, and no one ran.

They were expecting him.

He crossed his arms. "You said you had a proposition for me," he said shortly, red eyes scanning the room for any tricks.

"Ah, Phantom. Yes." Vlad's voice shook only the slightest fraction. He sat in an old chair at the edge of a control mainframe, where the emergency alarm button was within reach. "How nice of you to come after all."

Dan glared at the older man, who looked ragged and worn. "Skip the small talk. Just tell me what I'm doing here."

"You already know why we've called for you." Vlad pushed forward a few pictures that people had managed to snap of the monsters. "Our new friends from the ocean."

The quick snapshots were taken from ground-level, the monsters within them seeming all the more giant from the perspective of a small human.

But the pictures did not immediately interest Dan Phantom. He'd already seen their hulking sizes, their glowing eyes and veins not entirely unlike that of a ghost's. Instead, something else far more worth his while caught his eye. From within the shadows of the connecting hallway, he saw a lithe shadow. "Oh, hello, Valerie," he greeted. His lips stretched a little too wide for comfort. He eyed the way her torso sharply curved into hips. Her long, ringlet hair was wet, as if she'd just bathed. "You look ravishing today."

"Shut up," she said, teal gaze hard. She had a weapon trained on him. "Listen to Vlad, and don't try anything funny."

"Afraid I'll stain the carpet? With his blood?"

"No, just afraid I'll have to kick in a couple of walls," she said, voice suddenly pleasant. "With your face."

Vlad paled, realizing that their verbal sparring was about to escalate into a physical fight. "Please, the both of you. We have a far greater matter to attend to."

Valerie narrowed her eyes and remained silent, but Dan bristled at the disguised command. He sneered at Vlad in recompense. "So, I didn't know you liked dinosaurs. Isn't that for people fifty years younger than you?"

The man frowned and ignored the jab. "These monsters are more than mindless dinosaurs. They're actively targeting the human and ghost races in ways that not even _you_ have. We're looking at an extinction-level event if we cannot stop them. And if the human world rips apart, the Ghost Zone will go down too."

"Because there's so much left to ruin here," Valerie muttered under her breath. Vlad gave her a hard stare, and she looked down.

Dan merely appeared bored. "And you begged for my presence to tell me this…why?"

"Why?" Vlad echoed in disbelief. "You mean you're not also concerned? Even a little?"

Dan actually thought about it for a second. "I suppose their presence is irritating, but I love what they've done with the place." He smiled, although it was a bit tired. "It's very much full of death and screaming."

"But you can't play chess without a chessboard. And pieces." Vlad's voice was desperate. "The world is running out of options. We all are. You should be very worried by now."

The ghost shrugged. "Just because the monsters are screwing with my original plans for the world doesn't mean I'm about to start a non-profit. I don't care how the world burns."

"I understand that you have a…lack of concern," Vlad said. The horrors from the past several years echoed in his clouding blue eyes. "But if you want true domination, you need a world to rule, people to have power over. These monsters are destroying everything. From what we understand about them, they will not stop until every last one of us, both ghost and human, is eradicated."

Dan was growing tired of Vlad's insinuations. He never seemed capable of just saying what was on his mind. "Why the sudden encouragement for world domination? Shouldn't you be trying to convince me otherwise?"

Silence swung between them for a bit. "War makes strange bedfellows," Vlad admitted. "I'm appealing to your reason."

"No, you're trying to manipulate me," Dan raised a brow, expression darkening. "That's not reasonable; that's very, very dangerous." His palms began to glow.

Valerie began to move forward.

Before Dan could respond with an angry display of power, Vlad continued. "We're asking for a truce," he said quickly, attempting to steer away the subject to something safer and more relevant. "You're the only one who has managed to single-handedly take down one of those things when they were a Category 2. We're now facing Category 4s. We need your help."

The anger in Phantom's face bled away at Vlad's honesty. His eyebrows raised. "My help?" A chuckle worked its way up his throat, along with a scoff. "You're asking for _my help_?"

He turned to Valerie. "I'm not sure which one of you I want to kill first now." He frowned. "If you think for one second that you can convince me to take on a Category 4 by myself in the name of _saving people_, you're insane."

He did not tell them that taking on the Category 2 had damaged him far more than he'd ever admit. He'd been arrogant. Reckless. He pointed out the window. "These creatures are intelligent and adaptable. I gain far more by letting them do the heavy lifting for me."

"And then what? Exist in intangible-mode for the rest of your afterlife?" Vlad scoffed. "Really, Daniel. Think this through. They're hunting everything. They'll hunt you too."

Dan remained silent. The powerful lines of his body were tense, but he did not move to grab Vlad's throat or shoot. Instead, his sharp features were trained on Vlad, as if studying him for deceit.

Vlad took this as a good sign. "I've spoken with Technus," he added. "If we can get our hands on some wreckage materials from surrounding cities, he may be able to build something for you to level the playing field."

Dan said dryly, "How specific. _Something._"

"It would be a robotic suit of sorts. Large enough to fight them. Something that could amplify your powers and give you the size and boost you'd need to fight them." Vlad sighed. "At least that's the idea."

Well now. Something about that was enticing, far more than existing alongside ugly alien dinosaurs. He vaguely recalled memories of a time he had used a battle suit to defeat Pariah Dark, and how good the power boost had felt. Dan's eyes narrowed at the too-good offer. "Providing the crack pot could actually deliver, you'd be trusting me with a lot of power," his lips curled up. "How unlike you."

"Which is exactly why I'd be with you," Valerie stepped in, holstering her weapon. "To keep you in line." She crossed her arms over her chest and eyed him. Her fear of him was minimal now in comparison to her hatred of him.

"You understand," Vlad said to Dan, voice cautious, "that if we moved forward with this, we would have to engineer precautions into the project for which only Valerie or one of us could activate Technus's invention. It's a perfectly valid compromise—our increased safety and your increased power."

"Ooh, so Valerie the Ghost Slayer would be my handler. How delightful." Dan's red eyes flickered. Then he smiled a horrible, awful smile. "And what if I don't agree to your terms? Or to the whole idea?" His head tilted like a dog's. "Would I not get my good citizen award for the day?"

Vlad sighed, rubbing his temples. "I cannot compromise on the safety precautions. But you know we do not have the means to force you into a truce, Daniel."

Dan's smile dropped suddenly at his name. "Don't call me that."

The older man winced. He stared at the ghost that had once been a smiling, sensitive boy. "Truly, does not even a _remnant _of the Daniel I once knew still exist? He would have agreed to this instantly."

"No." Dan's ruby eyes glinted with a fearful anger. At times, he could still recall his old memories, complete with emotions beyond that of hatred and malice, but he tried to ignore it. "He died a long time ago, as did his asinine heroic complex. I'm not about to martyr myself into a dog for anyone."

"Then consider the power you'll lose if you let the other side win. Consider how indebted the world would be to you if you saved it from extinction!" Vlad looked tired. "Despite our differences, it's in our best interest in join forces."

"We need an answer either way." Valerie was impatient. "We don't have time to waste. Another monster could be landing on the coast right now."

"And what would I gain from saying yes, besides a potential guarantee that I'll hold all the world domination shares at the end?" Dan scoffed at them.

Vlad intervened before Valerie could say something horrifically offensive. "I have extensive pull among human governments. We can negotiate political terms of your future rule," he said. "Imagine it. Every remaining government bowing before you as recompense for services rendered. You wouldn't have to dominate the world; they'd hand it to you on a silver platter."

Valerie's face twisted. "Stop giving him ideas. We don't need his help. We can get someone else. Like a _human being_ from an _actual _military, maybe?"

"We need someone with power to operate Technus's device." Vlad's voice was rough with regret. "The only other person remotely as powerful as Daniel is Clockwork, and he has refused to help us."

"Of course he refused," Valerie said. "He always refuses. He babbles shit no one understands, and then he says to figure life out on your own. There's still gotta be someone else we can ask. Anyone but Phantom."

"Oh?" Vlad rose to the challenge, irritation deepening the wrinkles about his eyes. "And who do you suggest?"

As the two humans bickered back and forth, Dan Phantom remained silent. He ran a hand through the white flames of his hair, which flickered about his fingers and cast white rays of light about the room.

Then he decided. "I suppose if I want a world to rule tomorrow," he said, voice raising above theirs, "then I have no choice today." His smile came back with a maniac force. "I'll do it. If nothing else, a compromise will provide me with amusing insight into your pathetic little resistance."

Vlad blinked in shock. "So you…actually agree to a truce?"

Valerie frowned, trying to ignore the dread in the bottom of her stomach. A part of her had hoped he would refuse. "This is only temporary, of course," she said, eyeing Vlad. "Don't think _our_ fight's over."

"And how do I know," Phantom asked, "that you won't try to destroy me the moment we win against our new dinosaur buddies?"

The human woman raised a brow and shot back, "How do I know that _you_ won't kill _me_?"

The two stared each other down, the tension between them nearly sparking into fire.

Vlad smiled weakly. "Uh, let's worry about that _after_ we stop the monsters, shall we?"

* * *

Within a month, Technus had nearly perfected his design. He and several hundred ghosts had crept throughout the lands, dragging back metal sheets, scraps to be melted down, nuclear reactors from power plants. But the already-crippled world stumbled under the burden of the monsters rising from the ocean. People ran inland for cover. The few remaining countries pooled their resources into holding off what some now called the Kaiju.

By the time Technus's mysterious battle suit was created, nearly 500 miles inland had been permanently destroyed by nuclear bombs and toxic blood from the monsters—to a point where not even ghosts dared to tread. Shortwave radio hosts struggled to provide accurate body counts and reports of the attacks from around the Pacific.

The days where they had only Phantom to worry about were seeming less painful.

"In other news," the radio host said, voice crackling through the uneven signal, "we have not endured any recent terrorism from the infamous Dan Phantom. Some scientists suggest that even _he_ is in hiding from these terrible beasts. Poetic justice, we would say, but it looks like we're screwed no matter what, ladies and gentlemen."

* * *

Dan Phantom, as most people knew, had tried to take a Kaiju down only once.

The fight began easily enough, but the creature adapted to Phantom's tactics, watching with those too-aware, glowing eyes. It swayed in time with Phantom's short bursts of speed and dodges. It held back on its haunches and snapped lightly while the ghost laughed.

From there, it had taken only a fair bit of overconfidence on Phantom's part for the monster to get in a good hit that left the ghost bleeding with near-fatal gashes.

Phantom eventually succeeded in killing the Kaiju with several Ghostly Wails, but all of the monsters now came through the breach with an ability to replicate his power. The day he saw another Category 2 unleash a Wail against a battered San Francisco, he'd stopped in awe and shock. True fear had overwhelmed him.

The universe was a far greater and more dangerous place than he had ever believed. Intelligent beings, more powerful than him, were watching his every move and studying his strategy.

It seemed that even the dreaded Phantom could only watch his world burn by another's hand.

* * *

"I, Technus! Master of all Technology and Electrical Devices, present to you my finest creation: the _Guardian Omega_!"

Valerie and Dan stood side by side, craning their necks high to even see the torso of the metal beast before them. Its black metal with red designs shone dark in the night sky, starlight slipping off its razor-blade hands like water droplets.

For a second, even Dan Phantom was speechless at the sight.

Technus proudly gave them a summary of the robot. "Sixty engines per muscle strand. Three-thousand tons of metal plating and armor. Seven nuclear generators with ectoplasmic amplifiers to naturally hook up to Phantom's power core."

"Jesus," Valerie breathed, squinting. It stood taller than some skyscrapers. "You know, I imagined something like a robot and all—maybe a spin-off of the old Fenton battle suit—but this? Where do we even fight from?"

"From the head," the old inventor said. "I, Technus! Created this with advanced technology that connects all the pieces together through synapse systems. You have to be in the brain to control it."

Valerie narrowed her eyes. "So, how exactly do we use this…together? Do you press buttons or push levers or what?"

"You drive, I shoot," Dan said, crossing his arms. He floated up to investigate the intricate detailing along the robot's limbs. "Can't be that hard."

"What do you mean,_ I_ drive?" She called up to him, offended. Maybe she'd be tagging along, but she expected more control than that. "I'm pretty sure that's your job!"

Vlad watched the two bicker and turned to Technus. "Please tell me you know how to make them play nice." He suddenly had horrible images of the robot destroying itself, with its razor-blade fingers diving deep into its own head by command of its homicidal pilots.

Technus smiled, red eyes glinting. "It's far too messy to have divided minds in one body, you're right. But I have engineered this robot with a special device that will create the perfect integration between man and machine!" He whispered, "You know, what I was speaking with you about before." It was horribly difficult for Technus to whisper. "_Drift_ technology."

Vlad added hopefully, "Which will allow us a certain level of…access to Daniel's actions and behaviors, yes?"

"It'll allow Valerie access, mostly," Technus said. Something in his face looked feral and calculating despite his excitement. "But I believe she will be able to keep Phantom in line quite nicely. The electrical fields of her mind are far more stable than Phantom's."

Vlad stared at the two as they scoped out their newest piece of weaponry in silence. "I do hope so. We cannot afford failure."

* * *

Dan and Valerie stood within the main platform of the robot, staring at each other. Technus had designed battle suits capable of absorbing incredible amounts of electricity and radiation. The uniforms were black with a few red accents, plated armor functioning as a second layer.

"What is this," Dan said with a frown, "a family Christmas picture?"

Valerie felt herself shudder at the realization that she matched her enemy. That she was going to fight alongside him. That this was all really happening. "Yeah, you look like shit too," she said, turning away. But she felt his gaze burn upon her, right where the slim fit of the battle suit outlined her curves. "And keep your eyes to yourself," she snapped, turning around. "Or I'll punch them out."

A tell-tale smirk twitched his lips. "Let's face it, that's not the tightest suit you've ever worn. Remember when you were growing out of that first one, and the buttons on the front popped—"

"Don't!" she said, voice high with anger. Her face flushed something crimson. "Don't you dare say another word."

"It was a good reason to switch to zippers." The ghost's sharp features twisted in a heartless laugh. "For your sake, anyways."

Before Valerie could respond and drop-kick Dan in the face right there (truce be damned), Vlad's smooth face cut in.

"_We're running out of time to dawdle. Get into positions and await my signal. We're on-lining the robot in sixty seconds_ _for a functionality check_."

Outside the giant robot, various humans and ghosts alike had appeared from the rubble towns around them to watch the tall structure come to life. It stood like a knight before them, with powerful lines and a black, expressionless visor. Some had heard rumors that the resistance had negotiated with Phantom for his cooperation with the Red Hunter.

No one was sure yet how they felt about that—not even Dan and Valerie themselves.

From within the robot, Valerie and Dan glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes. Dan had taken the left side, Valerie the right. The various harnesses and neural connectors swept over them with the flip of switches. Neither said much beyond Valerie's occasional grumbles about metal death traps.

Then Technus threw the switch. _Guardian Omega_ revved up, nuclear reactors whining with a multi-tiered hum. Various holographic displays swept before them, running diagnostics.

"Guardian Omega online," a neutral voice said, "Systems running at 100 percent. Ectoplasmic energy fields aligning to identified ghost core. Awaiting neural bridge upload to system."

The harnesses locked in, and Valerie flinched at their click of finality.

"_I, Technus, will now engage the neural bridge_." His grating voice poured through the comm of their headsets. "_Stand by for integration."_

Dan stared down at himself, stuck within pounds of encasing metal that teemed with artificial life. He could feel it access his core until the harnesses holding him and Valerie in began to glow green. While he could easily phase out, it bothered him nevertheless. "Well, just get it over with." He bared his teeth. "This whole saving the world thing is throwing off my schedule for world domination."

"And I'm missing my hair appointment," Valerie mocked him. "So sad."

"Lemme guess, you were going to chop it all off?"

"You bet. Would've made my life a lot easier getting this damn helmet on." She fidgeted a bit under the glowing harness in an attempt to adjust straps. She eyed the ghost-infused technology with a distinctive mistrust.

An almost smile twitched Phantom's lips as he watched her, but he did not say anything for a moment. He was too tense, every line in his body tight with moody agitation. This all meant too much. This all meant that he had to be the hero again, if only for a bit.

He hid his worry with a sniff of indifference. "For the record, I'm not doing this for you. Or anyone."

"And I'm sure as hell not doing this for you." She glared right back at him. "The minute those monsters are dead, the truce is off. I'll destroy you once and for all."

Dan raised his brow. "Like you've been saying the last ten years? I look forward to watching you even_ try_ to—"

"—Neural bridge activated," the robot interrupted.

And suddenly, the world twisted in an explosion of sound and thought.

Everything that was Dan Phantom's mind collided with everything that was Valerie Gray's.

* * *

_**A/N:**__ This was entirely experimental, as I've never done a concept crossover like this before. But I really enjoyed Pacific Rim when I saw it. Then Phantom and Valerie came to mind because they're both bamf fighters and really apocalyptic themselves. Hope you enjoyed my spin on the Pacific Rim concept! I may continue this if people are interested. _

_Thanks for reading, _

_Lightning Streak_

**_Please review and let me know if I should continue! _**


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: Don't own DP or Pacific Rim. Cover image from HDWallpapersbank, a free download, and modified in Photoshop. _

_So I had enough people say that they wanted this continued. Here it is! Hope you enjoy. I included a short overview of the Pacific Rim plot in chapter one if you need it, but my hope is that this story feels independent and different enough to stand on its own._

* * *

**Cancelling the Apocalypse**

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Valerie cried out in the sudden overload of an entire mind joining hers to fill the synaptic spaces of the robot. Reality warped. Her heart stalled as she tensed up in the harnesses, hands desperately pulling at wires to get out. Darkness and pain overwhelmed her.

.

_ Danny stared at the mushroom cloud that stormed over his head, the explosion replaying in his mind. "No," he moaned. "No, no, no." He pulled himself off the hard gravel with shaking hands. Tears burned his eyes. "No!" _

_ Failure failure failure. A scream of agony tore from his lips as he reached out. _

.

She fell deep into the memory and lost herself, unable to separate from Danny. Valerie's hand raised in time with her accessed memory, eyes watering. "No!" she cried out in time with Danny, feeling her own body throb in fear and pain at the sight of the explosion. Her friends, her family, all gone—

The holographic interface surrounding her limbs activated. The robot's large, right hand raised with a shudder, then with a smooth, hydraulic movement in time with Valerie's actions. Its palm and razor fingers spread, glowing a neon green. Spectators below stared in awe. "Guardian Omega weapons system online," the robot confirmed within the conn. "Plasma cannon engaged."

People began to back away. "Uh, that's not good," Technus said from the control center, flying over to unplug the basic power lines.

"What's going on?" Vlad's worried voice carried over the murmuring conversations. He pushed the button for the comm. "Valerie, report! Stop this right now!"

Back on the ground, both Vlad and Technus tensed up as the plasma cannon began to glow hotter, the robotic hand aimed for a far-distant town.

"They're accessing each other's memory banks," Technus explained quickly in fear. "I didn't know the Drift technology would go so deep. It was designed to link up only their motor functions and nervous systems!"

"Then fix it!" Vlad seethed. "Before they destroy themselves!"

Back within the robot, only a part of Valerie registered reality. She sobbed in fear and shock, unable breathe under the weight of Phantom's memories. Daniel. He was Danny. And he was so good and tried so hard only to lose it all and Sam and Tucker were dead along with his family and he just wanted it all to end end end—

"Stop!" she squeezed her eyes shut, breathing hard. She tried to push back on the oppressive weight of the sorrow and terror. She lowered her arm, and the robot did as well. "Stop!"

She crawled her way up into a grayness, in which she could feel Dan's mind but not necessarily access it so deep. His power core nearly blinded her mind's eye. Then she realized in fear that the neural link went both ways. The presence that was Dan Phantom had fallen deep into her own mind. She could feel him the same way she could feel her own heartbeat.

"Oh my God," she breathed, opening her eyes.

On the other side of the harness, Dan stared off in the distance in a strange, tense trance. He'd accessed Valerie's memories of her early childhood. He could feel Valerie's emotions, her fear, her pain.

.

_"We're going to be alright," Damien Gray told her. He tried to smile, but it was watery. "Your mother would want us to be happy." _

_ "But Daddy, where is she?" she tugged on her father's pant leg. Her own eyes were bright with tears. "Where did she go?" _

_ The father hesitated. "Heaven, baby girl. Mommy's in heaven." _

_ Valerie felt her heart drop. "Oh." Her tears slid from her eyes. "Does that mean she's not coming back? Does she not love us anymore?" _

_._

He had not felt such a level of emotion in nearly a decade. It left him gasping as he held onto the harnesses with tight hands. He could feel it all, the sense of loneliness that had encased Valerie for years, the awkward jealousy she felt for normal families, the desperate attempt to find identity, the emptiness that could not be filled. Tears brightened his eyes despite how hard he tried to rip himself away. For the first time, the independent part of his mind felt total fear.

They'd only told him that a neural link would connect them to the robot—not to each other's every whim and thought.

He instinctively tried to create a barrier around himself, but something else happened.

"Shield activated," said the robot. The harnesses glowed, and a solid wall quickly stormed down the entire length of the robot, wrapping it in a protective barrier that hummed in a roar.

The surrounding crowds backed away a little further.

"Shut it down!" Vlad cried to Technus, his voice echoing. "Shut it down now!"

Technus huffed as he desperately pulled at cables. "I'm trying! But their connection is strong." His thin arms shook as he tried to pull the cables.

"Damage report. What's the worst that can happen, right now?" Vlad demanded, eyeing the robot suspiciously.

"Valerie just has to finish stabilizing," Technus said, avoiding the question. "She's got more logical synapse patterns. If she can stabilize, then Dan will be able to latch onto that and crawl out too."

"Yes, but this is…" Vlad cut himself off. "If they activate any major weapons around a civilian population…"

"Try and talk them down, then!" Technus waved at him, flustered. "You just can't rush technology calibrations. We knew it would be a rough ride at first."

Vlad grabbed the comm again without question. "Guardian Omega," he called through the comm. "Focus only on physical movement. Just let the thoughts drift, or they'll consume you, do you understand!"

Valerie was the first to answer. Her voice was hoarse. "I copy," she said. "I'm t-trying to…" she bit down a sob. "To stop it. I c-can't."

Vlad narrowed his eyes. Valerie was strong enough to do this. "Try harder," he told her. "Phantom, I'm talking to you too. Can you copy?"

From within the robot, Phantom remained silent. His red eyes were distant, seeing nothing before him but the sight of a funeral plot and the single rose that Valerie had rested on her mother's casket. He was unable to separate himself from Valerie, and suddenly he was reliving the death of his mother. He held onto the harnesses for dear life, maintaining the strong barrier around the robot in some physical attempt to protect himself from the onslaught of emotion.

He tried to pull away, to claw himself out of the stifling sense of loneliness that was Valerie's mind.

The robot trembled strangely.

Vlad turned to Technus and said, "We need to shut this down. It's too much for them." He waved his hands at the surrounding crowd in irritation. "Get back! Get out of here; it's too dangerous!"

The crowd watched their new iron giant fail, and they fled in a panic. The skyscraper-tall robot fell to its hands and knees under the divided mindset of its pilots, engines whirling in useless revolutions. Its hands crashed through a building, its knees cratering deep into the earth.

_Bam!_ The impact jarred Dan and Valerie back to full reality as they jerked in their shock harnesses, feeling the brunt of the impact. The earth rumbled like thunder beneath the robot's weight.

On the ground, Technus and Vlad finally managed to unplug the power system. "Got it!" Technus said, breathing hard, holding the cables with shaking fingers.

Then from within the conn came the robotic voice, "Guardian Omega powering down. Weapons deactivated. Neural bridge disconnecting."

And suddenly Dan and Valerie were back within their own minds, horribly silent, leaning heavily on the harnesses that strapped them in. The whirling engines whined down by decibels. The harnesses dampened their glow, and the holographic interface around them died. They realized that the robot was on its hands and knees, and that they were hanging at a strange, unbalancing angle. From the facial visor of the robot, they saw only the ground and a few scattered buildings.

"What," Dan breathed in, recognizing the tears on his face for the first time, "the _hell_ was that?" He quickly moved to brush his unbidden tears away, in fear or embarrassment, he did not know. His mind felt torn and displaced—more so than usual.

He glanced over at Valerie. She stared back at him with a deep knowledge, tear tracks on her dark face. Then, suddenly, he knew that she knew. He knew that look of horror.

With incredible hesitance, she whispered, "…_Danny_?"

She stared at his flushed, blue skin and raw red eyes, which were uncharacteristically disturbed by emotion. The contours of his face were more angular and mature than the Danny she knew, the body far more built. But she saw it, for the first time. She saw Fenton within the Phantom.

He swallowed hard.

"You're Danny," she said softly. She did not dare to say his last name, for fear that someone would overhear. "Oh my God."

In an attempt to hide his conflicting emotions, he sneered at the name. It would do him no good to lie. "Several years ago, maybe I was."

"_Guardian Omega, can you hear me_?" Vlad's voice was distant, uneven. "_We're trying to unlock you from the safety system so you can get out. Hold tight._"

Valerie was not paying attention. "I saw it," she said to Dan, eyes haunted. "What you did."

.

_He realized that he was not himself. No, no—Daniel Fenton was collapsed on the floor nearby, desperately attempting to right himself. _

_ Phantom stared at his human counterpart and cocked his head in confusion. __**Kill it kill it kill it**__, a secondary voice pounded in him, sweeping up his arms, overwhelming his sense. It sounded like Vlad. __**It's so weak. It made you feel pain. It enslaved you. **_

_ His fragmented mind panicked. Pain? Enslaved? _

_ Vlad's voice pulled at him. __**Kill it before it kills us!**_

_ But—_

_**Do it!**_

_ The command overwhelmed him. He lashed out. _

.

"You didn't see anything," Dan said quickly, eyes guarded.

Valerie saw through his exterior, now that she knew the constant pain that lay beneath the mask. "No, I did," she said, eyes widening. "You're like, possessed or something…" Her face twisted. "By Vlad?"

He bared his teeth, "I am in control!" he snarled. "I'm _always_ in control, never him!"

The remnant of power within him that he had subdued pulled at him with a subtle laugh. _Of course you are, Daniel. Of course. _

"Shut up!" he shouted, grimacing. He looked distracted, as if he were not even speaking to Valerie. Something pained crossed his face. "Shut up!"

Valerie gave him a strange, concerned look.

He looked up at Valerie and tried to hide his horror with a glare. "Don't say anything," he demanded. "Don't tell anyone." For a second, some facet of his split personality cracked through. He looked half-feral, half-terrified. He tried to phase out of the harnesses, only to realize that his power core was still tied to the powering-down robot. Panic set in. "And get me out of this damn thing!"

Valerie realized in that moment what Dan really was—helpless to his own split personality. The original Danny Phantom could not circumvent the impulses of Vlad's ghost, which had been born from hatred, want, and jealousy.

"He killed you," she whispered. "It was Vlad! His ghost side—!"

Phantom's wide eyes glowed a deep red. "—Don't. Don't you dare finish that sentence. It was all me. _Only_ me. And that's all you need to know."

Valerie gave him a hard stare. "Is it?" His threatening words were strangely empty in compared to his face, upon which tear tracks still shined. "You can't fool me, Phantom. Or Danny. Whoever you are."

He closed his eyes and forced himself to relax in the harness, trying to center himself before Vlad and Technus arrived. It would not do to be on the verge of a breakdown in front of them. World domination was going to be a lot harder than he ever imagined if he had to put up with this.

He tried to evade her. "You can't fool me either." He took inventory of his newly-expanded mind, complete with accessed visions of Valerie's own past. "I saw everything. How much you fear me. How you intend to stop me." He smirked through his quickly-drying tears. He was beginning to feel more like himself again. "How many times you've stared at my ass."

Valerie's mouth dropped open, and her eyes darkened. "…What?"

"Not gonna lie," he said, "it _does _look pretty good. Especially when you're looking up at it all the time."

Her complexion paled in some kind of horror. "I was just tracking you with weapons! How could you possibly think—?!"

"—Oh, I felt the hesitation, Val. I felt it."

Then the support harnesses around them suddenly unlocked, and Valerie and Dan went sprawling, slamming into the hard visor front of the robot's face and crashing into each other in a flail of limbs and armor.

It was too fast for the disoriented Dan to phase out. He landed hard on top of Valerie, which knocked the breath out of her lungs in a surprised wheeze.

For a second, they could only freeze in shock, their faces inches away from each other.

Then Valerie moved. "Holy—" she coughed, eyes wide with lack of oxygen. She weakly tried to push at him. "Get off of me!"

Dan blinked, then grimaced. "I'm trying," he said with a huff as he lifted himself off of her. The armored plates of their battle suits were magnetized to lock into the harnesses, and his arm had accidentally magnetized to Valerie's waist. One of his legs had magnetized to hers. "I'm stuck."

Valerie's lips curled in disgust as she felt his hand move beneath her thigh. "Get off!" she pushed him again, this time harder. "Phase out, do something!"

He glared at her in irritation at first, then reconsidered. "I suppose I could," he said, tilting his head, lips raising lopsidedly. "But now that I know how much you hate this, I kinda want to stay right here."

She snarled at him, teal eyes on fire, "You better get off!" And she began to struggle beneath him, moving her leg to unlock his. She managed to only drag him along, to which he laughed.

"What, you mean you don't like play time with _Danny_?" he mocked.

"Danny's dead," she snapped, face twisting in a flux of emotion.

His features began to fade out into thin air as he turned intangible. "But does this mean we'll play nicer now that you know what I am?"

Suddenly, Technus materialized into the conn, along with Vlad.

Their eyes scanned the vast conn and saw the open, metal harnesses hanging from above. Then the two of them saw the still-collapsed Valerie down on the robot's clear black visor. She was staring in shock and disgust at the empty air around her.

Vlad called out in concern, "Valerie, are you alright? Where's Phantom?"

Valerie did not answer for a time. Then she said slowly as she sat up, "I think he phased out." Her voice was strangled. She struggled to her feet, wiping dust off of her battle suit. "He's such a…" Words failed her. With everything she now knew, she found herself staring in distrust at Vlad too. She looked at him in fear and worry.

Vlad simply rubbed his temples, unaware. "Of course he'd run off. We could only have hours before the next attack, and he runs off." His hands slipped from his face. "We need to track him down now so we can get this thing calibrated correctly." He glanced her over in concern. "Are you capable of finding him?"

The woman raised a brow. "I'm always capable of hunting Phantom," she said indignantly. She'd save her questions for him later. "Just give me five minutes."

* * *

And from atop the ledge of the kneeling robot's streamlined shoulder blade plates, Phantom sat, pulling off his helmet and shaking his fire hair loose from its constricting ponytail. He could see miles in the distance from such a height, far beyond the meager borders of Amity Park and the wastelands surrounding it.

"Oh, Valerie," he mused to the air with a smirk that did not quite reach his eyes. "You and I are going to have fun together, aren't we?"

* * *

**A/N**: _Pacific Rim occasionally derails from its apocalyptic focus onto somewhat-amusing relationships between pilots, which is what happened here. I can't decide if I actually want to ship serious DarkGray in this story or not. Let me know your thoughts on this! :)_

_Thanks for reading, _

_Lightning Streak_

_**Please Review! I love constructive criticism and ideas. **_


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